Apparatus for winding up alternate rolls of lengths of welded wire fabric



Feb. 26, 1952 Original Filed March 7, 1948 W. S. SOUTH'WXCK APPARATUS FOR WINDING UP ALTERNATE ROLLS 0F LENG'IHS OF WELDED WIRE FABRIC 3 Sheets-Sheet l Lulu/A 5. Qmrwu wwzey Feb. 26, 19502 w 5 SQUTHWICK 2,58%4-0fi APPARATUS FOR WINDING UP ALTERNATE ROLLS 0F LENGTHS OF WELDED WIRE FABRIC Original Filed March '7, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 26, 1952 Original Filed.March 7, 1948 W. S. SOUTHVVICK APPARATUS FOR WINDING UP ALTERNATE ROLLS OF LENGTHS OF WELDED WIRE FABRIC 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Feb.- 26, 1952 APPARATUS FOR WINDING UP ALTERNATE ROLLS OF LENGTHS OF WELDED WIRE FABRIC William S. Southwick, East Lynn, Mass., assignor to Thomson Electric Welder Company, Lynn, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Original application February 7, 1948, Serial No.

7,008, now Patent No. 2,487,392, dated November 8, 1949. Divided and this application June 14, 1949, Serial No. 98,983

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a wire fabric welder and in particular to means and a method to form the welded fabric alternately into rolls of a predetermined length, as said fabric is delivered from said-welder an example of which has been already described and claimed in my application, Serial No. 7,008 filed February 7, 1948 now Patent No. 2,487,392 issued November 8, 1949, of which this is a division.

The principal object of this invention is to wind up on rollers predetermined lengths of welded wire fabric without interrupting the operation of the welder.

Other objects and features of this invention will appear from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatical view of the strand wire cutter;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatical view of the wind-up rolls and deflector plate;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the mechanism operating the deflector plate;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the same;

Fig. 5 is a side view of a wind-up roll mechanism; and

Fig. 6 is an end view of the same.

In the welder the fabric is made at the rate of several, such as 70 feet a minute, and it is desirable to roll the welded fabric into rolls of 150 feet, first into one wind-up roll and then into another such roll, without stopping the machine, This requires that after a length of welded fabric has been formed the fabric should be cut, a roll completed and the fabric diverted to be made into another roll.

From pinch rolls PI and P2, Fig. 1, the fabric passes to a cutter which has a lower stationary blade P and a movable upper blade P2 I, which moves up and down in guides. The lower cutting edge of the upper blade is inclined slightly so as to cut the strand wires in succession from side toside. The blade islifted and lowered vertically by mechanism operated from a shaft which may be clutched to a shaft driven by an electric motor. As such a mechanism is well known and is not of my invention, I need not further describe it. Toothed wheels, not shown, which draw the welded fabric through the machine, drive a counting device (not shown) which, on a predetermined number of meshes of the fabric, such as to give about 150 feet, closes an electric circuit which operates to throw in the clutch on the main shaft of the cutter and thereby causes the upper blade of the cutter 2 to make one vertical reciprocation when the clutch is automatically unclutched. As this mechanism is well known and not of my invention, it need not be further described.

The welded fabric passes the cutter station and is guided to either one of two wind-up rolls WI and W2, Fig. 2 Whether it goes to one or the other of these rolls depends on the angular position of the deflector-plate W3 pivotedat the end of brackets attached to the stand PIS, Fig. 1, on which the fabric cutting mechanism is mounted. When the forward edge of the plate W3 is down, the fabric goes over the plate to roll WI, and when it is up, the fabric is deflected below the plate and goes to the roll W2. To the forward edge of the plate is pivoted a link W4 the lower end of which is pivoted to the end of an arm W5, Figs. 3 and 4, pivoted on a stud shaft W6. Attachedto the hub of the arm W5 is a disc W1. This disc has two notches W8 in its periphery diametrically opposite to one another. A spring pressed latch W8I is adapted to engage these notches and to hold the disc yieldingly in one of two positions.

In the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the link W4 is down,.and the fabric passes over the plate W3. Loose on the shaft W6 is an arm WIO to the end of which is pivoted a pawl WI l the end of which is pressed against the disc W1 by a spring W82 acting against a projection on the arm WII). The end of the pawl is adaptedto enter notches W1I and W12 in the periphery of the disc W1. Attached to the hub of arm Will is a pinion WI5, with which meshes a rack WI6 which moves up and down in slides and is operated by a connection to the upper blade P2I, Fig. 1, of the fabric cutter. In the position of the parts, shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the blade PZI has completed its downward or cutting stroke. As it rises, the rack WIS turns the pinion WI 5 and the arm WIU carrying the pawl WII anti-clockwise, Fig. 3, whereby the pawl WI I, engagingthe notch WII of the disc' W1,

turns the disc anti-clockwise and with it the arm W5 which raises the link W4 to tip the forward edge of the plate W3 up. This deflects the fabric under the plate W3 and directs it to the wind-up roll W2.

The machine continues to run until the counter causes the upper blade P2I to descend to cut the fabric. Then the rack WI 6 moves down and turns the pinion WI5 clockwise, Fig. 3, to turn the arm WI 0 clockwise 180 in which position the pawl WII engages the notch W12 in the disc W1, the notch W12 having rotated 180 anticlockwise to the position of notch W'II shown in Fig. 3. Then, when the cutter blade PZI rises, the rack W16 turns the pinion W15 anti-clockwise and with it the arm WID and pawl WII to rotate the disc W1 180. This rotates the arm W5 180 from pointing upward to pointing downward and lowers the link W4 to lower the forward edge of the plate W3 thereby causing the fabric to pass over the plate and go 'to the windup roll WI.

When the blade PZI of the fabric cutter descends it stops the flow of the fabric until it rises. During this time, which is short, the fabric, held back by the blade, bulges upward, Fig. 1, as the pinch rolls continue to feed it onward. As soon as the blade risesthe fabric straightens due to its resiliency, and resumes its progress to one of the wind-up rolls.

The wind-up operation is performed as follows, Figs. 5 and 6;

Eachwind-up roll is made with adiametrical slot RI into which the end of the fabric is to be inserted. The end of the slot is closed by a plate R2 attached to the halves of the roll to prevent the fabric from going through. When the wind-up roll is stationary, it is held in that position by a brake-shoe R3 which is pressed against the rim of a wheelfast on the shaft of the wind-up roll bya spring R4 which acts against a lever B5 on which the brake-shoe is mounted. The lever R5 is released by the operator from a latch R6 which is operated by a solenoid B! when the operator presses a button to energize the solenoid. At the same time the belt R8 which drives the wind-up roll is relieved of tension by the raising of an idler roller R9 which bears against the belt and is maintained on the end of a lever RIB pivoted on a stud on the frame work of the machine. The lever RI is connected to the lever R by a link RII so that when the brake-shoe is applied, the lever RIB is raised .and the idler roller R9 is lifted to relieve the tension on the driving belt R8, so that the rotation of the wind-up roll is stopped by the brake-shoe.

When the wind-up roll is stopped, the operator ties up the roll of fabric so that it will .not fly apart. He then draws the roll of fabric endwise from the wind-up roll. In order to draw off the fabric endwise, he first swings out of the way the bearing on which the half studs on the wind-up roll are mounted such half studs being fastened each to one half of the wind-up roll. After removing the roll of fabric from the windup roll, the operator swings support the half studs.

The operator sees that the wind-up roll is stopped in a position in which the slot RI faces in the direction of the approach of the fabric The fabric approaches over a table R12 and is guided into the slot in the wind-up roll by a guide plate RI3 which extends across the machine and is fastened to levers RM which are fastened to a rock shaft RI5 on the end of uprights on the frame. The levers RM are held in raised position by a latch RIB which is attached to a spring arm RI! fastened at its lower end to the frame and engages a lug on the levers RI4. The operator lowers the levers R14 by moving the spring arm to disengage the latch back the bearing to 4 and moves the levers downward until a stop RI8 on one of the levers contacts with a boss RIB on the frame whereby the guide plate RI3 is so positioned so as to guide the fabric into the slot in the wind-up roll.

. After the fabric has entered the slot, the operator raises the levers RM so that the guide plate RI'3 is a short distance above its lowest position, so that the fabric is guided towards the top of the wind-up roll and is prevented from bulging upward adjacent thereto. If any bulge occurs it takes place further back in the feed of the fabric. The operator then steps on a treadle R20 to depress lever R5 to release the brake and tighten the belt R8 to start the rotation of the wind-up roll. After the wind-up roll has made a few rotations the operator unlatches a lever R2I, pivoted at R23. The lever carries a roll R22 so that, as the roll rises due to the counter-weights R24, it bears against the fabric as it is being wound on the wind-up roll.

Attached to one end of roll R22 is a circular ratchet R25 which is engaged by'a spring-pressed pawl R26, which is pivotally mounted on the lever R2! and which prevents the roll R22 from rotating backwards. The operator raises. the levers RM to its uppermost position to remove the plate RI3 out of the way of the fabric as it is wound on the wind-up roll.

Near or at the outer ends of the levers RM and depending substantially at right angles thereto, a safety guard (not shown) may be mounted to prevent any part, particularly the trailing end, of the length of fabric from striking the operator, as said length is being wound up on the wind-up roll.

I claim:

In a machine for welding wire fabric and delivering the welded fabric therefrom, the combination of means comprising a knife to cut the welded fabric crosswise after a predetermined length of fabric has been welded, a pivot plate synchronized with said knife to deliver the cut fabric alternately in different paths leading to wind-up rollers, Wind-up rollers each adapted to roll up the length of cut fabric delivered thereto, means to rotate each of said wind-up rollers, and means to stop the rotation of each of said windup rollers, said pivot plate being operated by means comprising a rack attached to said knife and meshing with a pinion, a pawl secured to said pinion and adapted to engage alternately each of two diametrical notches in the periphery of a disc and a link secured at one end to said disc and at the other end to one end of said pivot plates.

WILLIAM S. SOUTHWICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file .of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 290,216 Daniels "Dec. 18, 1883 1,079,071 Summey Nov. 18, 19-13 2,006,499 Fourness July .2, 1935 2,200,656 Schefe May 14, 1940 2,449,234 Knoble Sept. 14, 1948 

